Baltimore Privates

[Anonymous]

Many of the DMV region schools are often mentioned, but there are many other great schools in then Baltimore Region; particularly the Gilman School, Park, Friends School of Baltimore. Please let me know your experiences with these and how competitive admissions is.

[Anonymous]

What grades? There are many excellent schools in Baltimore and multiple threads about them here if you search.

You’re asking about 1 boys school and 2 coed schools. Are you asking about a boy?

[Anonymous]

At all of these schools, it helps if you are full pay. I assume you have a son. What grade are you looking at? High school admissions is more competitive so get your kid in as young as possible. I think Gilman just started a pre-k program for next year. These schools also have pre-first and many boys are either told they will admit them in pre-k when they are applying for KG or they will be recommended for pre-first after their KG year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At all of these schools, it helps if you are full pay. I assume you have a son. What grade are you looking at? High school admissions is more competitive so get your kid in as young as possible. I think Gilman just started a pre-k program for next year. These schools also have pre-first and many boys are either told they will admit them in pre-k when they are applying for KG or they will be recommended for pre-first after their KG year.

Right. McDonough does the same. That's one reason we didn't apply.

[Anonymous]

All 3 have competitive admissions, and are very different. I'd recommend taking a tour so you can get a feel for whether your child would like Park or Gilman more. In my opinion, Friends offers a more middle of the road environment, but if I had a kid for whom Park or Gilman was a fit I'm not sure I'd send him to the other one.

What grades are you looking for? What sort of environment are you looking for?

Pre-First or delaying entry is very common, and if you're not interested in it for your late spring or summer birthday son, then you may want to wait to try for admissions in upper elementary or middle school.

[Anonymous]

My son would actually be applying for the upper school at these schools. I look forward a school that will foster my son's interest in the performing arts, classroom, and also an environment that is very welcoming and open to different cultures and opinions.

[Anonymous]

In that case, any 1 of the 3 could work. In broad strokes, I might say Park fits that best but he and you should visit all 3 and see which is most suitable. Gilman is tougher to get into followed by Park then Friends, though I perceive that the latter 2 aren’t that selective. Being full pay helps at all 3. Gilman has the best need based aid, but the other 2 might be a little more forthcoming with merit aid if you’re full pay.

All 3 are truly excellent in their own way. One of the benefits of the over abundance of schools in Baltimore is that you can find one that’s a great fit for your kid

[Anonymous]

I'm very familiar with the Baltimore schools.

If we're talking about Gilman, Friends and Park, this is how they're positioned on the scale of personality, from preppy to artsy/liberal: Gilman (all boys, historically prestigious, the #1 school for Baltimore's establishment), Friends (middle of the road, popular among JHU academics, progressive but grounded) and then Park (strong curriculum, faculty called by their first name, very liberal and progressive, perhaps too much, historically the #1 school for elite Jews in Baltimore although that's weakened somewhat with many now sending kids to Gilman/Bryn Mawr).

I've heard more than a few people say that Friends is the best public school education money can buy, and there's truth to it. The atmosphere at Friends is comparable to the atmosphere at good public schools in affluent in-town suburbs with a high percentage of educated parents in the academics / medicine / non profits. As such Friends is popular with parents who find the traditional prep school atmosphere off-putting because they went to public schools themselves, but who find Park too unstructured/hippy.

On the flip side, other parents might question why paying 30k for something that may not feel inherently special or unique. Friends is a happy school with good academics, but may feel like it's missing that special touch one might expect from a private school, and which Park and Gilman have albeit for quite different reasons.

Academically, in terms of college placements, Gilman and Park have the edge. Friends used to be comparable but has weakened in the last decade, not because of any decline in faculty or teaching but slight changes to the student body demographics. But a bright kid won't be hurt.

It's well worth visiting all three schools and paying close attention to the campus vibes and students. Faculty are great at all three. Based on what you've said about your son I would suspect he'd lean towards Park and Friends over Gilman, but definitely don't rule Gilman out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm very familiar with the Baltimore schools.

If we're talking about Gilman, Friends and Park, this is how they're positioned on the scale of personality, from preppy to artsy/liberal: Gilman (all boys, historically prestigious, the #1 school for Baltimore's establishment), Friends (middle of the road, popular among JHU academics, progressive but grounded) and then Park (strong curriculum, faculty called by their first name, very liberal and progressive, perhaps too much, historically the #1 school for elite Jews in Baltimore although that's weakened somewhat with many now sending kids to Gilman/Bryn Mawr).

I've heard more than a few people say that Friends is the best public school education money can buy, and there's truth to it. The atmosphere at Friends is comparable to the atmosphere at good public schools in affluent in-town suburbs with a high percentage of educated parents in the academics / medicine / non profits. As such Friends is popular with parents who find the traditional prep school atmosphere off-putting because they went to public schools themselves, but who find Park too unstructured/hippy.

On the flip side, other parents might question why paying 30k for something that may not feel inherently special or unique. Friends is a happy school with good academics, but may feel like it's missing that special touch one might expect from a private school, and which Park and Gilman have albeit for quite different reasons.

Academically, in terms of college placements, Gilman and Park have the edge. Friends used to be comparable but has weakened in the last decade, not because of any decline in faculty or teaching but slight changes to the student body demographics. But a bright kid won't be hurt.

It's well worth visiting all three schools and paying close attention to the campus vibes and students. Faculty are great at all three. Based on what you've said about your son I would suspect he'd lean towards Park and Friends over Gilman, but definitely don't rule Gilman out.

OP, take this with a grain of salt. The parents I know who think Park is "too liberal" like places like Calvert, where the girls have to wear teeny tiny skirts in 50 degree weather and the school has its own handwriting script. I visited both because I heard Calvert is very strong in academics. At Calvert, I saw a lot of first and second graders doing worksheets and listening to someone lecture. Our tour guide was a fifth grader who reported that he'd grown a lot as an actor due to his role as a Gingerbread Man or whatever. Beautiful old school, sort of has a Harry Potter-ish vibe, but the spiel about the Calvert brand was a bit over the top.

At Park I met teachers who were really passionate about the material -- how to teach math concepts, what makes a good science experiment, how to engage students to think about community rules. I saw incredible examples of student work: fourth graders who had built amazingly detailed medieval structures from different places (obviously a lot of math and engineering thought went into it) and written elaborate guides to the music, culture, art, geography, etc. of the place. I'm not sure how this worked, maybe student teachers from local areas, but they looked like they had one teacher/ reading specialist for every 2-3 children in first grade. Park has strong ties with Hopkins. Most of the faculty I know send their kids to Park, not Friends. There's a research trip to the Arctic circle to measure things related to global warming in high school. The progressive element is not about political ideology -- it comes from empirical research about how children learn best at different ages. For example, when the third graders learn about indigenous native tribes, they go out into the woods on campus and build the structures they lived in. When the K students learn about birds, they examine the shapes of their beaks and figure out what kind of food they can eat. It's a very thorough, immersive, and meticulously thought-out curriculum. What I really liked most about it is that they don't emphasize mastery of the right answers. They teach students how to think critically about how to approach different questions, and why certain answers make more sense than others. Look at their results relative to other schools in the Maryland Mathematical League. They're usually 1 or 2 in Baltimore.

Don't know much about Gilman. My friend who went through the private school system as a girl was at Gilman's sister school, though, and she said the boys were all known to be cocky and arrogant. Strong emphasis on sports.

[Anonymous]

Previous Poster, my kid is a high schooler at Park. We love Park. Your post was a huge turnoff for anyone considering our school. What are you reacting too? The very mild criticism that Park might be too permissive? I don’t disagree with that - especially in Lower and Middle School.

It’s a special place that empowers kids to shape their own learning, but sometimes it’s a struggle to give a 15-year-old that responsibility, especially if classmates aren’t able to handle it. For some kids who thrive with more structure, it’s not the best place and there’s nothing wrong with that. The wide range of schools in Baltimore give every kid the chance to find the one that’s right for them

[Anonymous]

The PP saying Park is too permissive, too liberal, too etc. posts very frequently. Frankly I find that person's posts to be very overgeneralized with no specifics about the school apart from that and the Jewish stereotype. Historically, Park was the "Jewish" schools because other elite private schools in Baltimore would not accept Jewish students due to anti-Semitism. I wouldn't exactly call it "#1 school for elite Jews" -- that doesn't really explain why Jewish people went there.

[Anonymous]

Calvert jumpers don't have teeny tiny skirts. The jumpers of all the girls uniforms are pretty standard. Like you, I saw Calvert kids writing (they do take their handwriting seriously). But I wouldn't denigrate the children who we were able to speak with on our tour, that's really uncalled for. And of course they're proud of their school and what they accomplish. They do amazing things, and as a K-8 in a sea of independent K-12's they have an interest in pointing out their differences and why someone might make the choice for them.

I can understand deciding Calvert isn't for your child - I made the same decision. For someone upset about what you took as a slight against Park, you took it in an inappropriate direction.

Park is an amazing school. But it's also got a hippy vibe and if you don't want your children calling teachers by their first names, lounging on the floor at random intervals, and being very self-directed in their education, it may not be a good school for your children. Just as if you don't want your son to have to participate in a sport (even wiffle ball) or wear a uniform, Gilman may not be the best fit.

I know children who attend Park, Gilman, and Friends currently, and I wouldn't describe any of them as cocky and arrogant.
It is possible to discuss what we see as the pros and cons of a school without insulting the children who go there.

Though for anyone reading along, you'll see that both Gilman and Park inspire strong feelings, not so much Friends or McDonogh. Touring the schools is really important because there are some schools with strong personalities and some that are more middle of the road.

[Anonymous]

OP, go and visit — what’s conservative and what’s progressive is pretty subjective. If you look at previous posts on this forum about Baltimore schools, there is a general consensus that Calvert is on the traditional end and Park on the progressive side. However, that is relative to Baltimore standards, and old Baltimore is pretty conservative/ traditional relative to other east coast cities.

On a factual level, Calvert places emphasis public speaking and confidence which is why PP may have noticed the strength of the students’ self-presentation. At Park, the emphasis is more on written self-expression. Park is also like Friends in that they introduce issues of social justice from a young age.

[Anonymous]

Went to private in Baltimore, big date rape and drug culture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son would actually be applying for the upper school at these schools. I look forward a school that will foster my son's interest in the performing arts, classroom, and also an environment that is very welcoming and open to different cultures and opinions.

The kids I know from Friends have all been super friendly and down to earth. Park has great theater and a music recording studio. Both emphasize diversity and tolerance all the way through. Park is probably known as the more academically rigorous one. I’m not sure if Friends tries to offer a distinctive academic curriculum — middle of the road sounds about right. They do really emphasize socioemotional development in the lower school.